With my growing affinity for cooking, I’ve come to desire fresh herbs in my dishes as opposed to dried. They truly give your meals the extra flavor it needs to really make those taste buds dance. I figured it was about time that I got my own little herb garden going. My back yard is what some might call fugly. All we have is a BBQ out there; very grim. I needed some plants and flowers to spruce it up. I didn’t want to spend butt loads of money on a specially designed planter, so I try to be as thrifty as I can considering we are a one income family. My parents were throwing away some of their old planters and I of course was glad to take them off their hands. They were grimy looking but in excellent condition. My wheels started turning and I came up with a great idea: DIY herb planter.
I got some advice from my mom who made her own as well. She splurged and got some gorgeous ceramic pots from Homegoods, which is a great option. But I chose a different route: spray paint the old, plastic planters to look ceramic. Its amazing what you can do with a couple cans of spray paint!
the goods.
All you need for this simple DIY project is 2 plastic (or ceramic if you can splurge) potting planters, one large and one small (the small pot will nest in the middle of the larger pot, so make sure there is enough room to plant around the small pot), 1 bag of potting soil, 3-4 plastic bottles and herb plants. In less than 3 hours you will have a gorgously delicious double herb planter!
spray painted goodness
In a well ventilated area, preferably a yard, line the floor with newspapers or cloth. Spray the paint evenly all over the 2 pots and inside about 4 inches. Depending on the color and texture of spray paint you choose you may have to do a double coat. I picked this brand of RustOleum spray paint, it gave a pretty cool textured look to the potters. It shouldn’t take longer than an hour or two to dry completely.
shove ’em in…helps with drainage too!
Since the larger pot will take up a lot of soil and it will kind of be waste, line the bottom of the large pot with old plastic bottles, preferrably liter or gallon sized. I used 2 gallon sized milk jugs and 2 liter ones and then threw in the soil. After, take the smaller sized potting plant and make a place for it directly in the middle of the larger pot, then dig a hole for it to sit in and pack the sides with soil so it stays in place. Once the soil is in the large pot along with the small one, put more soil into the smaller pot.
the smell is intoxicating!
I started my herb garden with 2 pots of basil, 2 pots of cilantro, 2 pots of parsley and 1 pot of mint (mint grows like crazy!) that I bought from Home Depot’s gardening section. I plan on adding rosemary to it as well. Be sure to pot the double pots near each other and space out evenly. I put the 2 pots of basil in the smaller pot because the plants were so lush and leafy, it was only right to give them their own space. Also, be sure to mark which plants are which! Parsley and cilantro look very similar.
ta-dah!
Once all the plants are in, water and your done! Be sure to keep an eye on them…herbs can be a pain to keep alive! So far mine have been alive and thriving for 3 weeks.
This was so incredibly easy to do, it took me a total of 2 hours and only cost me just under $50. Now, if you want to get even cheaper than $50, you can grow the herbs yourself and all you’d have to pay for is the potters, paint and soil! I may try that with the rosemary…hopefully I will be successful.
– Amanda
